Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/444500
ipatedintheMadrigal.Wil- liam has been active in stu- dent government. He has been class President in his freshman year, class Vice-President in his sophomore year, class Treasurer and Student Council Activities Co- ordinator. This year he is senior class President and Vice-President of the Student Council. He has also participated in the musicals Oklahoma and Shrek, and will be in Phantom of the Op- era this Spring. His com- munity service includes performing his Eagle Scout Project for Mercy High School and helping with the Knights of Co- lumbus. He has applied to the California State University, Cal Poly, Cal- ifornia State University, Chico, the University of California campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Los Angeles and San Diego. He has also applied to the University of South- ern California. William plans to attend the Uni- versity of Southern Cal- ifornia and has not de- cided on a major. His hobbies include playing the piano and camping. Chris Gray is the son of Kristen and Gerry Gray of Red Bluff. Chris has participated in baseball and golf. He is the Mercy High School Rap Club founder. Chris has been active in student govern- ment. He has been Rally Coordinator for Student Council. Presently, he is senior class vice-presi- dent as well as Student Body President. He has participated in the mu- sicals, Grease and Okla- homa and the last Madri- gal. He also won the Big Man on Campus compe- tition as a freshman and sophomore. His commu- nity service includes be- ing the Sacred Heart El- ementary Basketball coach. Chris has applied to Stanford University, California State Uni- versity, Cal Poly, Menlo College, Notre Dame de Namur, and California State University Chico. He is undecided which college to attend, but he plans to study Busi- ness Entrepreneurship and become a business owner. His hobbies in- clude music and hang- ing out with his friends. Adil Syed is the son of Marti and Rehan Syed of Corning. Adil has participated in basket- ball, tennis, and base- ball. He has been active in student government and has been a class Stu- dent Council Representa- tive. Presently, he is the Student Council Repre- sentative to the Mercy High School Advisory Board. He has partici- pated in Madrigals and has worked backstage for Spring musicals. He participated the play, Al- most Maine, and will be the musical, Phantom of the Opera. Adil has also played guitar for many school Masses. His com- munity service includes working at the New Life Assembly of God, Corn- ing, working at Villa Co- lomba, Red Bluff, and the setting up and tear- ing down of the last five Madrigals. He has ap- plied to the California State University, San Jose, California State University, Northridge, California State Univer- sity, East Bay and Cali- fornia State University, Chico. He plans to at- tend the California State University, San Jose and study Engineering. His hobbies include playing the guitar and singing. Mercy FROMPAGE3 Mays:JamesCurtissMays, Jr., 55, of Red Bluff died Thursday, Jan. 8at St. Eliz- abeth Community Hospital in Red Bluff. Arrangements are under the direction of Red Bluff Simple Crema- tions & Burial Service. Published Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015in the Daily News, Red Bluff, Calif. Deathnoticesmustbe provided by mortuar- ies to the news depart- ment, are published at no charge, and feature only specific basic informa- tion about the deceased. Paid obituaries are placed through the Clas- sified advertising depart- ment. Paid obituaries may be placed by mortu- aries or by families of the deceased and include on- line publication linked to the newspaper's website. Paid obituaries may be of any length, may run multiple days and offer wide latitude of content, including photos. DEATH NOTICES ing and air conditioning unit, but the request was rejected as council mem- bers took no action. Mayor Clay Parker, refer- ring to an agreement be- tween the city and county that has been in effect since 1995, said the city would be going againstlanguagethat states it's the county's re- sponsibility to pay for ma- jor repairs. "I think the community center is great," Parker said during City Council's meet- ing, "but the issue I have is what the contract says." Indeed, the agreement states, "All major costs for repairs to the structure, if not covered by insurance, shall be paid for by county, out of county funds, sepa- rate and apart from funds to be paid to the commu- nity center." Major costs are any that exceed$3,000, accordingto the agreement. But according to a board of supervisors agenda item that is scheduled to be taken on by the board Tues- day, county officials say the City Council's interpreta- tion of the agreement "rep- resents a departure from the parties' past practices under the agreement." The community center, which is also managed by the city per the agreement, operates at a deficit. Both the city and county contrib- ute$30,000eachtowardop- erating the center, but oper- ating deficits have exceeded thatamountinrecentyears. For the 2013-2014 fiscal year, according to city es- timates, the community center brought in roughly $105,000 in rental and mis- cellaneous revenue, which was under expenditures of roughly $257,700, leaving the county and city to make up the difference. Because costs have ex- ceeded $30,000 contribu- tion, according to county staff, "the county and city have historically agreed to split large costs associated with the center, notwith- standingthestrictlanguage of the 1995 agreement." The 1995 community center agreement between the city and county is au- tomatically renewed annu- ally unless either the city or county gives intent to ter- minate the agreement be- fore March 1 of each year. County staff says the committee, if formed, would review agreements and "propose any revisions necessary to make the agreements mutually sat- isfactory moving forward." The Tehama County boardofsupervisorsissched- uled to take on the agenda item about 11 a.m. Tuesday attheboardchambersat727 Oak St. in Red Bluff. Contract FROM PAGE 1 pass a final version in June. The Democratic governor returned to office four years ago amid multibillion def- icits that left California in so much fiscal turmoil that he led the charge for tem- porary tax hikes while cut- ting social programs, reduc- ing education funding and restructuring government. Now Brown, who was sworn into his fourth and final term this week, is de- termined not to spend all of California's second annual surplus. But that restraint has created tension with advocates and members of his own party eager to do more for the poor and fight income inequality. "We're disappointed this budget continues the cuts that were made in the re- cession," said Andrew Cheyne, California Associ- ation of Food Banks policy director. Cheyne is part of a coalition of groups push- ing for increased social ser- vices spending. Brown's plan also stirred angst over the level of state investment in higher educa- tion, particularly at the Uni- versity of California. Brown offered the nation's largest public university system a $120 million increase, but it wasn't as much as UC leaders wanted to avoid in- creases of as much as 5 per- cent each for the next five years. "While we are disap- pointed the governor did not include sufficient reve- nue to expand enrollment of California students and reinvest in academic qual- ity at the university, we are hopeful that continued dis- cussions with the gover- nor and the legislature will yield a budget that main- tains the access, affordabil- ity and excellence for which the University of California is renowned," UC President Janet Napolitano said in a response Friday. Brown's budget includes a $1.2 billion deposit into the rainy day fund and a $1.2 billion debt payment. He wants to pay off debt ac- crued during the recession, including making the final payments on a $15 billion bond that was championed a decade ago by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to close the state's deficit. By law, Brown must use much of the revenue growth on K-12 education and com- munity colleges. As a result, the governor chose not to propose many new programs and instead focused on covering grow- ing costs to existing pro- grams. "It's precariously balanced, and it's going to get even more challenging as we get down the road," Brown said. Health care for the poor is one major cost pres- sure. About 4 million more people are enrolled in the state's low-income health care plan, Medi-Cal, as compared with 2012. The Brown administra- tion pointed out that Presi- dent Barack Obama's exec- utive order to spare some immigrants from deporta- tion will enable hundreds of thousands of low-income immigrants in California to apply for the state's version of Medicaid. While the pres- ident's action excludes im- migrants who came to the country illegally from quali- fying for federal health ben- efits, California has a pol- icy of using state money to provide health coverage for low-income immigrants with deferred-action status. Brown also wants to bar- gain with labor unions to begin addressing the state's unfunded liability for re- tiree health care benefits, currently estimated at $72 billion. Republicans, whose votes are not needed to pass a budget, said they liked the governor's plan for saving the reserve, but they have criticized him for failing to provide an economic strat- egy for job growth. Brown's budget includes funding for workforce development through adult education and technical training pro- grams. On Friday, Brown pushed back on criticism of not do- ing more, noting that about a third of the budget is ded- icated to serving the poor through child care, health care and other programs. "We do the best we can," he said. It may be harder for Brown to fend off new spending proposals as he did last year. Democrats have already put forth pro- posals to expand health care to all regardless of their immigration status and to expand the state's sales tax to services, and not just tangible goods. The governor questioned if it was politically feasible. "If you tell people now that their Pilates takes an 8.5 percent sales tax, they may not be as yoga happy as they were before," he said. Budget FROM PAGE 1 RICH PEDRONCELLI — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Gov. Jerry Brown references a chart showing the increase in school funding in the past four years as he unveiled his proposed 2015-16state budget plan at a Capitol news conference in Sacramento on Friday. By Kristin J. Bender The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO Two men are attempting what has been called the hardest rock climb in the world: a gru- eling ascent of a half-mile of exposed granite in Cal- ifornia's Yosemite National Park using only their hands and feet. Kevin Jorgeson, 30, of Santa Rosa, California, and Tommy Caldwell, 36, of Es- tes Park, Colorado, are re- lying completely on their physical strength and dex- terity to make their way up the Dawn Wall, a ver- tical face on one side of the famous rock forma- tion known as El Capitan. The attempt — their third since 2010 — has caught the world's attention. The men have been climbing toward the sum- mit for two weeks and could finish this weekend or next week. Here are some an- swers to common questions about the climb: Q Why is this consid- ered so difficult? A No one has ever "free climbed" to the top of the Dawn Wall. In 1970, Warren Harding and Dean Caldwell — no relation to Tommy — spent more than 27 days free climbing the wall but did not make it to the summit. The climbers use harnesses and ropes to catch them if they slip, but the equipment does not help them ascend. There are about 100 routes up El Capitan, the largest granite monolith in the world, which rises more than 3,000 feet above the Yosemite Valley floor. Of those, the hardest and steepest is the Dawn Wall, so named because it faces east toward the rising sun. Q What is free climbing and how does it differ from other types of climb- ing? A In free climbing, ath- letes use only their hands and feet. They grip cracks in the granite as thin as razor blades and as small as a dime. Most foot- holds are nothing more than an indentation on the wall. Free climbing should not be confused with solo climbing, where climb- ers are alone and without ropes, harnesses or any protective gear. Q Who are the climbers? A Caldwell is a profes- sional climber who has free climbed 11 routes on El Capitan. He's been climbing since he was 17. He's been in peril before. In 2000, Caldwell and three other climbers went to the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan to scale the towering rock walls of its southern mountains. Sev- enteen days in, they were captured by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Caldwell shoved a guard over a cliff, and the climb- ers fled, eventually reach- ing a Kyrgyz army out- post. The guard survived the fall. In 2001, Caldwell acci- dentally cut off his left in- dex finger with a table saw. Six months later, he scaled a different route up El Cap- itan in 19½ hours with only protective hardware to stop any falls. Only once before had anyone managed such a climb in less than 24 hours. Jorgeson is also a profes- sional climber, speaker and instructor. On his personal website he says he's been climbing all his life. "At first, it was fences, cupboards, ladders and trees." "Climbing was al- ways a very natural thing for me to do, so when I found rock climbing, it felt perfect. I can't imagine a sport that fits my personal- ity any better." Q What are the hazards of the climb? A Climbers' fingers take a beating. Jorge- son has battled with one lower section so many times that the sharp holds ripped both the tape and the skin off his fingers. Caldwell's fingers are so raw that he sets his alarm to reapply a special prod- uct to his skin. Caldwell said on Face- book that the middle sec- tion of the climb involves "some of the smallest and sharpest" holds he has ever attempted. At one point, climbers have to jump completely off the wall to catch a grip the size of a matchstick. What's more, the warm weather has them climbing only at night, when the rock is cold enough for maximum trac- tion. Q How long have they been training? A Jorgeson has been training for five years, and Caldwell put in about seven years of train- ing. They tried the climb in 2010 but only made it a third of the way because of storms. A year later, Jorgeson broke an ankle after a fall during an at- tempt. John Long, the first per- son to climb up El Capitan in one day in 1975, said ear- lier this week that it's al- most "inconceivable that anyone could do something that continuously difficult." He said he believes the duo spent the equivalent of a year's time on the wall in preparation. DARING FEAT Q&A Pa ir a tt em pt s wo rl d' s mo st difficult climb at Yosemite ELCAPREPOR — TOM EVANS Tommy Caldwell, 36, of Estes Park, Colo., with Kevin Jorgeson, 30, of Santa Rosa not seen, set up camp as they begin what has been called the hardest rock climb in the world: a free climb of a El Capitan, the largest monolith of granite in the world, a half-mile section of exposed granite in California's Yosemite National Park. R ed Bluff Simple Cremations & Burial Service NowOffering Eco-Friendly urns at economy friendly prices. 722 Oak Street, Red Bluff, FD Lic. 1931 527-1732 SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 2015 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 9 A